Hot Topic Inc. reports a 7.1 percent dip in comparable store sales in August, a Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. subsidiary is awarded a one-year, $6.3 million contract, and other briefs about L.A. companies.

Federated Department Stores Inc. on Tuesday said it completed its $11.9 billion acquisition of May Department Stores Co., forming a retail company with more than 1,000 stores and $30 billion in annual sales.

The average gallon of self-serve regular in L.A. rose just six-tenths of a cent to $2.772 for the week ended Aug. 29, a slowdown after weeks of price increases that saw gas rise 3 cents a week earlier.

Computer Sciences Corp. wins an $86 million contract from the Environmental Protection Agency, Teledyne Technologies Inc. completes its acquisition of RD Instruments, and other briefs about L.A. companies.

Newspapers are finally adjusting to the Internet world and standing to benefit is AdStar Inc., a Marina del Rey company that has been contracted to provide technology that allows for the placing of ads online.

Under pressure to reduce air pollution at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, the two port agencies and their railroad operator reached a deal to replace 18 polluting locomotives with cleaner models.

Guess Inc. and Fossil Inc. announced Friday that they are in advanced negotiations for a 10-year licensing agreement in which Fossil will produce and distribute Guess watches beginning in January 2007.

California's attorney general said the state has filed a lawsuit accusing 39 pharmaceutical companies of bilking the state's Medicaid program of hundreds of millions of dollars by inflating drug prices.

Under the state's first new area code overlay, virtually all new phone numbers within the 310 territory will be assigned the new 424 area code, starting in August 2006; existing numbers will remain 310.

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. agrees to buy the remaining shares of its Irish commercial affiliate for $24.6 million, and Northrop Grumman Corp. is awarded a 5-year, $208 million contract by the U.S. Navy.

The median home price in L.A. County surged in July to $543,890, a 20.4 percent gain from the like period a year earlier, according to a report released today by the California Association of Realtors.

Because the refineries in L.A. closely guard information about their operations, there is no clear answer to the question of whether operational issues will continue to exacerbate fuel prices in coming months.

Beverly Enterprises Inc. said Friday it received a higher bid of $1.91 billion from a private investor group, forcing the original bidder to decide whether to submit another proposal to buy the company by Tuesday.

Thursday, August 18

Center Financial Corp. receives a delisting notice from the Nasdaq, Walt Disney Co. amends its corporate-governance guidelines to make it easier to remove directors, and other briefs about L.A. companies.

Goldman Sachs & Co. was hired by Public Storage Inc. to advise the company on its unsolicited bid to acquire rival Shurgard Storage Centers Inc., the operator of self-storage facilities said Wednesday.

WPT Enterprises Inc. notifies the SEC it needs to delay filing its quarterly results, Hilton Hotels Corp. sells its Palmer House hotel in Chicago for $230 million, and other briefs about L.A. companies.

O'Melveny & Myers LLP will sell the downtown L.A. building at 400 S. Hope St. that it has owned for a quarter century. And Tishman will buy 407 N. Maple Drive from a partnership that includes David Geffen.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa selected five appointees to the L.A. Department of Water and Power's Board of Commissioners, including three current and former environmental regulators and a transportation expert.

In another sign of how the continuing real estate boom is transforming Los Angeles, middle-class neighborhoods in North Hollywood, Tarzana, Glendale, Rancho Park and the heart of Hollywood now boast median home prices exceeding $1 million.

Tag-It Pacific expects to report a "significant" operating loss in the quarter, Big 5 Sporting Goods asks the Nasdaq for an additional extension to file its results, and other briefs about L.A. companies.

Agilent Technologies Inc. on Monday agreed to sell its semiconductor unit and its stake in a lighting technology firm in deals valued at about a combined $3.6 billion to focus on its measurement business.

The J. Paul Getty Trust on Monday announced the hiring of a Virginia museum director as director of the J. Paul Getty Museum and its Malibu location, Getty Villa, which is scheduled to open early next year.

Retail sales jumped last month as buyer incentives led to the biggest gain in auto sales since just after 9/11, and claims for jobless benefits dropped unexpectedly, government reports showed on Thursday.

Capstone Turbine Corp. and Arden Group, Inc. report quarterly results, Vivendi Universal Games signs an agreement to produce games based on Robert Ludlum spy novels, and other briefs about L.A. companies.

The parent of Southern California Edison Co. returned to a profit in the second-quarter, driven by improved results from its independent power business, higher utility revenue and lower net interest expense.

The surging L.A. County housing market showed no sign of a letup in July, as sales volume remained strong and the median price of an existing home hit $515,000, a 20.9 percent increase from one year earlier.

Crude-oil prices rallied to a new high above $63 a barrel on Monday, reflecting market fears over the U.S. embassy closure in Saudi Arabia due to security threats and concerns that shutdowns of U.S. oil refineries would reduce supply.

Friday, August 5

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo cites the council's own rules in issuing an opinion late Friday that the L.A. City Council's failed vote to extend a contract with Browning Ferris Industries to handle city trash at the Sunshine Canyon Landfill will have to

MannKind enters into a $175 million private placement agreement, Korn/Ferry sues a top executive and former employees for allegedly stealing trade secrets, Northrop Grumman wins another big contract, American IDC changes its name.

China's CNOOC Ltd. said Tuesday it has withdrawn its $18.5 billion cash offer for Unocal Corp., stating it considered raising its bid, and "would have done so but for the political environment in the U.S."

Alex Lidow, chief executive of International Rectifier Corp., gets amped up when he talks about the energy needs of China and India. But steer clear if you're an analyst with a question about options expensing.

Public Storage Inc. on Monday made an unsolicited $2.5 billion public offer for rival Shurgard Storage Centers Inc. despite the Seattle-based real estate investment trust's position that it is not for sale.

This could be a good back-to-school summer for Los Angeles retailers. Families with children in the western U.S. are expected to increase their back-to-school spending 7 percent, to nearly $410 this year.

Surging crude futures forced L.A.-area gas prices back up once again after they fell for the first time in five weeks just 7 days ago, according to data from the federal Energy Information Administration.

Recent deals for two popular social Web sites underscore the frantic search for teens and 20-somethings who have cut back on their television time and are turning away from newspapers, magazines and even radio.

As principal in the forensic and dispute services practice of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, Don Mullinax will be working in both the public and private sector in developing anti-fraud programs.